Amanda Fazio received her master’s degree (M.S.) in Sport Psychology and Motor Behavior from the University of Tennessee and is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.
Her passion lies with empowering athletes and performers to reach their highest potential both on and off the field through the teaching of evidence-based mental techniques, specifically surrounding positive psychology, and a mindfulness approach, and utilizing techniques from motivational interviewing. It is her goal for performers to not solely use mental techniques and increase enjoyment in performance, but to find it in everyday life. Faz's experience has ranged from working with athletes recovering from injury, overcoming performance anxiety, and training coaches at the collegiate to professional level in Motivational Interviewing. With experience in a wide range of performance realms, including but not limited to, baseball and softball, basketball, soccer, the performing arts, diving, and ice hockey, Amanda customizes each performer's mental performance experience. She is also completing her master's in clinical mental health counseling to seek licensure and is in the process of being certified through the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT).
Prior to joining the SportStrata team, Amanda was a collegiate softball coach for three years at both the Division I and Division III levels, including serving as the Graduate Assistant at the University of Tennessee. These experiences have allowed her to work not only with athletes at a high level, but also communicate effectively with various collegiate coaches and administrations to help them facilitate growth, positive team cultures, and most importantly, enjoyment, in the student-athlete experience. She prides herself on building positive relationships with student-athletes and has her finger on the pulse when it comes to the intersection of mental and physical performance. In her own playing career, Amanda was a 4-year NCAA Division I softball player at Bucknell University where she broke program records in career strikeouts, strikeouts in a single season, wins in a single season, and stolen bases for the Bison.
Outside of work, Amanda enjoys bringing her very fluffy dog to the park and on hikes, cheering for the New York Yankees and New York Giants, and eating her weight in ice cream. Amanda is also a second-degree blackbelt in Isshinryu Karate, which she credits for much of her mental fortitude in her own athletic career.
